This quotation from Dovesteyvesky’s “The Grand Inquisitor” is used by Jeffrey Robbins in his introduction to the superb  book  “After the Death of God”  , that includes essays and interviews with John Caputo and Gianni Vattimo.

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An excerpt from the remarkable book , “The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event”  written by John Caputo

This post forms part of a syncroblog on the “Kingdom of God”, please note the links to the  other participants below:

• Susan Barnes (Christian currently attending a Baptist church) of Abooklook on My kingdom goes
• Timothy Victor (Christian) of Tim Victor’s Musings on The reign of Godde
• Ronald van der Bergh (Dutch Reformed) of Ronalds Footnotes on Notes on “the Kingdom of God” in the New Testament
• Nic Paton (fundamentalist, charismatic, liberationist, apophatic, heterodox) of soundandsilence on The “Kingdom”: of God?
• Beth Patterson (Non churched follower of Christ) of Virtual Tea House on What it’s like rather than what it is
• Jeff Goins (Non-denominational Christian) of Pilgrimage of the Heart on The Kingdom of God: Now and Not Yet
• Phil Wyman (Non-denominational Christian) of Square No More on Jesus as the Archetype Shaman (Part 2): A Nostalgia for Paradise
• Stephen Hayes (Orthodox Christian) of Khanya on Kingdom, power and glory

I have just received Bruce Cockburn’s new album – Slice O Life.  It is a live album – just the man with his guitar.  Listening to this double album with many of Bruce’s best loved songs was for me a journey through the last twenty-eight years of my life.  Over the years the music of Bruce Cockburn has a huge influence on me. This influence has happened on many levels from the spiritual, political, social, environmental issues through to intimate love.

The highlight of this album is the opening track “World of Wonders”.  Listening to the delicate and complex guitar patterning combined with the soulfulness of the lyrics was deeply moving for me.  It has been a long time since a piece of music has brought about such a strong personal emotional response.

Bruce has released a number of live concert albums over the years, however, in my opinion this is the best live album to date.  It has a wonderful intimacy which puts the listener in touch with not only the music but the maestro journeyman. 

Viva Bruce Viva!!!     and   Thank You!!!

As I reflect on the process of mourning, I am for a moment, stepping aside from the deconstructionist philosophy of Jacque Derrida and Post Modernism and  looking purely at the emotional and expressive reality of the event.

While viewing various works by other artists, I was deeply moved by the sorrow expressed in this painting.

 The following description is taken from the Imperial War Museum, London, where the painting is on display:

“Sir George Clausen was an established Royal Academician when he painted Youth Mourning in 1916 at the age of 64.  It represents his personal reaction to the loss of a generation of young British soldiers during the conflict, and particularly to the death of his daughter Katharine’s fiance.

Youth, represented as a vulnerable young woman, mourns the death of her love, and by extension, the deaths of all young soldiers.  In the distance are the flooded battlefield craters.  This allegorical work combines traditional classicism and Christian symbolism with the stark landscape of the Western Front.”

I have started a triptych which is the final work in the (Im)possible series. The three canvasses exam Death, Mourning and Rebirth. I have also seen the three canvasses as reflecting on Good Friday. Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. The main painting will be the (im)possibility of Mourning( Holy Saturday). As I worked through this process I have been considering  various forms of “Loss” .

Today I had conversation with a close friend regarding friendship and the loss of friendship and community. My friend mentioned that he was felt as if he was mourning past and lost friendships.

When Neil Young wrote “Thrasher”, in 1979, he was 34 years old, I first heard this in 1980 and I was 16 years old. It was the song that introduced me to Neil Young’s music and even though I have always love this song, I feel that a long journey of time is needed to fully appreciate this song.

Lyrics and brief notes:

Thrasher

They were hiding behind hay bales,
They were planting in the full moon
They had given all they had for something new
But the light of day was on them,
They could see the thrashers coming
And the water shone like diamonds in the dew.

And I was just getting up, hit the road before it’s light
Trying to catch an hour on the sun
When I saw those thrashers rolling by,
Looking more than two lanes wide
I was feelin’ like my day had just begun.

Where the eagle glides ascending
There’s an ancient river bending
Down the timeless gorge of changes
Where sleeplessness awaits
I searched out my companions,
Who were lost in crystal canyons
When the aimless blade of science
Slashed the pearly gates.

It was then I knew I’d had enough,
Burned my credit card for fuel
Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand
With a one-way ticket to the land of truth
And my suitcase in my hand
How I lost my friends I still don’t understand.

They had the best selection,
They were poisoned with protection
There was nothing that they needed,
Nothing left to find
They were lost in rock formations
Or became park bench mutations
On the sidewalks and in the stations
They were waiting, waiting.

So I got bored and left them there,
They were just deadweight to me
Better down the road without that load
Brings back the time when I was eight or nine
I was watchin’ my mama’s T.V.,
It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.

Where the vulture glides descending
On an asphalt highway bending
Thru libraries and museums, galaxies and stars
Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
Waits with heated pool and bar.

But me I’m not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line in the field of time
When the thrashers comes, I’ll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I’ll know the time has come
To give what’s mine.

It is almost impossible to fully understand and interpret the lyrics of Neil Young as they work on various levels.

Some view ”Thrasher” to be Neil’s lyrical magnum opus, however, in my opinion there are too many great songs to award this honour to one song.

My take on these lyrics is that Neil was writing mainly about the artistic and spiritual parting that had taken place between himself and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

The song is a lament to lost friendships.

A thrasher is a farming implement, also called a reaper,  used to harvest grain, so there is the obvious metaphor to death.

I don’t want to say to much as I would rather allow for private and personal reflection, however for more analysis of the lyrics click here.

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This prayer is an excerpt from the wonderful book , “The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event”  written by John Caputo

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“Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita

mi ritrovai per una selva oscura

ché la diritta via era smarrita.”

“Midway in the journey of our life

I came to myself in a dark wood,

for the straight way was lost.”

“The Christian religion is a religion of the flesh.  The human body is not merely a tiresome burden which we have to carry, a dark, heavy prison in which a radiant spiritual soul is locked up as punishment until it gains release in death.  It has a central part to play in our journey to God.  Until we have experienced its tug, its weight and resistance, there is no spiritual life possible for us.  There are lessons for us to learn, experiences for us to undergo, which can come to us only through the body. ”

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This quotation is take from the Book “The way of Paradox: Spiritual life as taught by Meister Eckhart” Written by Cyprian Smith OSB

This posting was in response to a post seen at “Art of the Spirit” on Hildergard of Bingen: Illness and  creative purpose. I would encourage you to read this and view the video by Matthew Fox.